Salad, Sandwich Shop To Open ‘Very’ Soon In Westfield

WESTFIELD, NJ - New York City-based health food chain Fresh & Co. will be crossing the Hudson and bringing its first New Jersey location to Westfield “very” soon, according to Downtown Westfield officials.

Serving up fresh salads, soups, sandwiches and more, Fresh & Co. is a popular fast-casual restaurant group that has a total of 15 locations nationwide. The chain even has its own farm on Long Island.

Aside from the Big Apple, the restaurant also has locations in Winter Park, Florida and Washington D.C.

The Westfield location will open at 21 East Broad Street, where Carlo's Bakery used to be located, sometime toward the end of 2022.

“The wait is almost over! Fresh & Co. is coming to downtown Westfield very soon,” Downtown Westfield said in a Tuesday statement via Facebook. “Stay tuned for an opening date!”

“Loved Fresh & Co. when I used to work in the city,” one commenter, We Love Cranford, wrote.

“Always good to have new options for lunch! Best wishes to them,” another user said.

According to the company website, the restaurant also has plans to open a location in Newark.

Scotch Plains residents Bhavna and Vishal Ajwani are the franchisees bringing the restaurant to Westfield, Patch previously reported. The couple has been serving the Union County community since 2018, when they opened their first childcare center, Lightbridge Academy, in Fanwood. Read more: Lightbridge Academy To Host Grand Opening In Fanwood

"We realized that places for healthy options for breakfast, lunch and dinner are very scarce, and we wanted to bring that option into our area," Bhavna told Patch last year. "Westfield has an amazing downtown ... and we figured what's better than a downtown that's bringing in a huge amount of crowds and a lot of foot traffic?"

Bhavna said Fresh & Co. offers around ten to 12 different "chef-designed" salads. This includes a summery strawberry burrata salad, a falafel salad, a Mexican caesar salad and many more.

For those with dietary restrictions, Bhavna said there will be a variety of options, which will be labeled as free of certain allergens. Customers can also customize their own bowls or salads to dictate what goes in there, Bhavna said.

A smoothie and juice bar will also be available, as well as a breakfast bar to order omelets, bagels and more.

Customers can either sit down in the restaurant or pick up orders and grab and go. Fresh & Co. has its own app for pre-ordering, Bhavna added.

You can check out their full menu on the Fresh & Co. website.

“For more than a decade, we’ve been proud to provide New York residents with a diverse, chef-inspired menu full of seasonal items, many of them from our own farm,” said George Tenedios, Co-Founder and CEO of Fresh & Co. “We’re looking forward to bringing that same passion for making healthier food options available to Westfield residents. We can’t wait for the local community to get a taste of it.”

- With reporting by Remy Samuels.